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BAKU. September 6, 2010: Special OSCE representative for freedom of press Dunja Mijatovic called on Azerbaijani authorities to abolish repressive defamation laws and promote independent media-accountability system.

"The existence of criminal defamation legislation, which is meant to protect honor and dignity of people , remains one of the most often applied means of legal pressure on independent media in the OSCE region.

It undeniably hampers the work of journalists by protecting the powerful from criticism. By generating the fear of prosecution, they impede free discussion of important public issues. This so-called chilling effect prevents the media from playing their watchdog function necessary to in a democratic society, namely from reporting on corruption, on the political process or from criticizing government officials.

BAKU. September 6, 2010: The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Bernard Fassier of France, and Robert Bradtke of the United States, released the following statement today:

"As part of their efforts to facilitate negotiations for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France; Ambassador Robert Bradtke of the United States; Ambassador Igor Popov of the Russian Federation) expect to be particularly active in the months leading up to the OSCE Summit.

BAKU. September 4, 2010: The government of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev should begin liberal economic and political reform now or it will run the risk of instability in the tightly controlled ex-Soviet republic as oil revenues drop, a leading think tank said in its report.

The International Crisis Group said Aliyev had surpassed his late father and long-serving leader Heydar in the level of control he exerts over society in mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, where oil-driven economic growth has helped ensure stability.

BAKU. September 2, 2010: Today, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Baku. The Russian president paid a visit to the Alley of Martyrs and Heydar Aliyev’s grave. Today and tomorrow, Medvedev is expected to hold meetings with president Ilham Aliyev and other senior government officials of Azerbaijan. The parties are expected to discuss a broad range of issues, including the delimitations of borders between Russia and Azerbaijan, expansion of trade between two countries, and Garabagh problem.

BAKU. September 1, 2010: On September 2, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev starts his official visit to Azerbaijan.  A number of central streets in Baku will be closed on September 2 and 3, and traffic will be restricted due to the visit.  Jamshid Hanifayev from the Public Relations Department of Baku Traffic Police Office said the traffic in Neftchiler Avenue, Azneft Square, Bakikhanov Street, Huseyn Javid Avenue, and Gelebe square will be restricted.  On September 3 Neftchiler Avnue will be closed from the morning till evening.  The Traffic Police called on drivers to use alternative roads (Turan).

WASHINGTON DC. September 1, 2010: Yesterday, Freedom House announced that David J. Kramer had been chosen to serve as the organization's new executive director. Kramer has had a distinguished career both in government and in the nongovernmental sector. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from March 2008 to January 2009. David Kramer is also known for his principled position on the issues of democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan. Responding to the question of Turan on the issue of human rights in Azerbaijan, David Kramer said the Freedom House would continue keeping the focus on the issues of human rights in Azerbaijan.

BAKU. August 30, 2010: On September 2-3, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan, says Russian President’s official web site.

The program of the visit is not available to public. The Russian Foreign Minister said earlier that the presidents of two countries would sign several bilateral agreements related to the delimitation of borders and division of water resources of the border river Samur (Turan).

WASHINGTON. August 28, 2010. The statement released by Azerbaijani-Americans for Democracy (AZAD) condemns the decision by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to uphold the sentence of bloggers Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli (Abdullayev). The organization, reflecting the views of concerned Azerbaijani-American Diaspora, considers the high court’s decision as the final evidence that the case against bloggers was a fabrication initiated by the authorities as a punishment for their public criticism of the government’s policies.

The case of bloggers clearly demonstrated that the judicial system in Azerbaijan acts as a convenient tool in the hands of the government to persecute its opponents and that the regime in Baku has no respect for basic human rights and liberties, states AZAD press-release. It also recalls that the government in Azerbaijan blatantly disregarded the pleas of international community, including the calls by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on behalf of the US government.

BAKU. August 27, 2010: Special representative of the OSCE on Freedom of Media Dunja Mijatovic will arrive in Baku on September 6. The Baku Office of the OSCE reported that Mijatovic will attend the international conference on mass media. Mijatovic’s visit to Azerbaijan will continue till September 9 (Turan).

WASHINGTON. August 27, 2010: The 65th session of the UN General Assembly will open in New York on September 14. The agenda of the session includes the resolution on situation with the occupied Azerbaijani territories. The resolution has been put for discussion for the third time, along with Georgia’s resolution on Frozen Conflicts among the GUAM member-states and Their Consequences for Entire World, Security and Development.